One important lesson learned from the jungles of Vietnam was the ever-present danger to attack aircraft from ground fire. Lowing flying AH-1A Huey Cobra's, A-7 Corsair II's, and A-1 Skyraiders, for example, were constantly sent into battle at low altitudes amid raking fire to attack ground targets. However, despite an attack aircrafts vulnerability to ground fire, their accuracy and devastating weaponry easily neutralized ground opposition. The A-10, affectionately nicknamed the "Warthog", was built from the ground up with lessons learned in the Vietnam War. The A-10 has gained a reputation for being able to send its pilots through hell and still see them safely back to base. Since its introduction in 1976, it has been a bane on armour and stationary defences alike.

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Development of the A-10 was initiated by Republic shortly before they were absorbed into Fairchild Aviation, and ceased to be an independent entity. It was designed when the United States Air Force announced a requirement for a brand-new attack jet, which would wield the massive GAU-8/A Avenger. The YA-10A was entered into the Attack Experimental competition, competing against rival Northrop's YA-9A submission. The YA-10 was deemed superior to the faster YA-9, and therefore would enter service with the USAF.

The A-10 offered extreme survivability in hostile environments due to its armour, devastating weapons such as the GAU-8/A Avenger, and a variety of back-up systems should the aircraft be damaged in any way. A titanium "bathtub" under the cockpit shields the pilot from even the heaviest projectiles, and every major system of the aircraft, from the engines to the wings, is armoured. Power for the A-10 comes in the form of dual General electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans. In the event of one engine being destroyed, the other engine can still power the aircraft. Twin streamlined nacelles protrude from the rear of the aircraft. The nacelles were specially designed to shield the turbofans from debris, and reduce the heat signature, protecting the Warthog from heat seeking missiles. Another safety feature of the warthog is the twin-tailfin configuration. Just as with the engines, the Warthog can still fly with only one tailfin, although with reduced performance.

The A-10 is a practical, simple design. The dual General Electric turbofans are quite simple to maintain, and relatively cheap to replace. The A-10 can also operate from tarmac runways, ashphalt roads, or dirt airstrips, with the same amount of ease. In addition to armour, and backed up systems, the Warthog carries specialized electronic equipment, and was designed to execute evasive maneuvers. AN/ALQ-81 Electronic CounterMeasure (ECM) pods can be used in self defence, while still leaving room for plenty of munitions and other equipment to be carried. The ace-in-the-hole of the Thunderbolt II's evasive maneuvers is the ability to roll, made possible by split ailerons. By rolling, damage is not concentrated on a single point of the aircraft, but distributed to multiple areas. All parts of the aircraft are heavily armoured, meaning instead of, say, 5 flak shells hitting the rear fuselage of the A-10 and piercing it, two shells would hit the fuselage, one the tailfin, and two the engine nacelle. Bent straight wings give the aircraft exceptional low level and diving performance, as well as surprising maneuverability.

The primary weapon of the A-10A is the GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm cannon at its core. The GAU uses 30mm depleted uranium shells, which when heated can penetrate the thickest armour. Since the A-10A is primarily an anti-tank and CAS (Close Air Support) aircraft, it needs to be able to bring an anti-tank weapon to bear at any time during its deployment. The A-10 earned the nickname "Warthog" because the gun sounded similar to the grunt of a pig. The gun has a fire rate of 60 shots a second, and is so powerful that firing it in extended bursts can slow down the aircraft. Rockets and AGM-65 Mavericks are the most commonly carried weaponry, although bombs are not an uncommon sight on the aircraft. For night duties, night-vision goggles are provided for the pilot allowing 24/7 service.

144 A-10A Thunderbolt II's saw deployment in the 1990 Gulf War, and as well as devastating many a tank, it also claimed two helicopters using AIM-9 sidewinder SRAAM's. In 2003 it was again called to fight, this time in the Iraqi War, where it performed CAS duties and carried out a number of airstrikes against tanks and munitions depots.

However, the United States government proved to be the biggest obstacle for the A-10A throughout its career. Since the A-10 was deployed, the government was concerned that the aircraft was much too slow to escape modern fighters, and would pose a safety risk to pilots. The A-10A is only capable of travelling at 682 KmH, slower than the piston-engined P-51 Mustang fighter of the 1940's. Despite a very low loss record, and an incredibly high pilot survivability record, the F-16 was chosen to replace the Thunderbolt II. The F-16 can strike ground targets but unlike the A-10 was not built entirely for the purpose of armour destroying. Interestingly enough, the A-10 was named the Thunderbolt II to honour Republic Aviations legendary P-47 ground attack and pursuit aircraft of World War II.

Despite political turbulence, a number of A-10A's remain in service with USAF Reserve and Air National Guard units. Also, a number of A-10A's escaped retirement by being modified into the OA-10A variant. The OA-10A is specialized for the Forward Air Control (FAC) role, and has been found to greatly excel at this duty because of its defensive measures. Taking over from the OV-10 Bronco, the OA-10A does not require great speed as an observation aircraft, and it has a far better chance of surviving a mission than any previous observation aircraft in USAF service. As part of the observation role, the OA-10A Thunderbolt II carries sidewinders at all times for self-defence. Rockets are also carried to use against soft targets or for target designation, and the Avenger cannon is still carried.

Due to many A-10's continuing to serve in the late 2000's, despite their expected retirement being long overdue, it was decided to upgrade the existing A-10A and OA-10A models to the new A-10C variant. Although a YA-10B version was proposed, it never escaped prototype stage and wasn't adopted by the USAF. The A-10's being upgraded to C standard will be the first "Warthogs" to receive advanced equipment. Unlike the other variants of the A-10, the C model cannot be called simple, boasting the ability to carry advanced munitions such as JDAM-equipped "Smart" Dumb bombs. This will enable them to more accurately hit targets, especially stationary ones. The introduction of the A-10C is expected to keep A-10's flying until somewhere around 2028, a surprise for those expecting the aircrafts withdrawal date to occur sometime in the early 2000's. Laser and electronic targeting equipment will, for the first time ever, make its way into the cockpit of the previously "simple" A-10. Although the downside to spending vast amounts of money on attack jets is that they are very prone to damage, the entire fleet has been upgraded, and the new sophisticated systems will keep the A-10C the most advanced attack aircraft in the United States inventory.